All the inhabitants of the small house passed before Asoka's eyes that day. First, the younglings entered the room she now occupied, one after another. The girl remembered all their names, as she had not forgotten the time when she flew with them to Ilum. Although now, like the Clone Wars themselves, it seemed to her like something insanely distant and not happening to her at all. But these six children, who had grown up and become stronger since the day they last met, easily brought back memories of that unusual day. And now the Togruta looked at them and got to know them all over again. The one standing first, thin and dark-haired, was called Petro, and the Nautolan standing next to him was called Zatt. According to Shaak Ti, they were the ones who had saved her.
"Thank you, boys," Asoka said with a warm smile. Now she no longer resisted being saved. Freed from the last reminder of the hated Robert, Tano no longer considered her life hopeless or herself a lost cause.
"You're welcome, Padawan Tano," the two boys replied almost in unison, just as they had in the old days.
Then Katuni stepped forward, having grown considerably over the past year and transformed from a shy, timid girl into an active and sociable teenager. She was followed by the Ithorian Biff, the Wookiee Gunji, and the Rodian Ganodi. The last in line were two small Togrut, a girl and a boy, apparently twins named Maris and Brutus, the biological children of Shaak Ti. As Katuni had told Ahsoka in secret, Shaak had given birth to them in the temple and then brought them to the Order as foundlings. No one knew who their father was, and Shaak herself did not consider it necessary to reveal this information. Late in the evening, Master Windu came to the house and, approaching Ahsoka's bed, bowed politely, removing the hood from his bald head:
"I am very glad to see you again, Padawan Tano.
At the same time, Asoka noticed that the changes that had affected all her old acquaintances were most evident in this dark-skinned Master. To begin with, his appearance, which had once inspired sacred awe in the younger generation, had become simpler and somehow more down-to-earth. His shoulders were slumped, his muscles emaciated, and his face was lined with wrinkles. Tano also noticed that his right hand was missing and had been replaced by a durasteel prosthesis, and his left leg was slightly shorter than his right, obviously due to an old fracture, and now Mace could only walk with the aid of a cane, almost identical to Master Yoda's, only larger. But strangely, all this made him seem more human and gentle, because before he would never have welcomed Asoka so warmly and almost affectionately.
"What happened to him during that time? The Imperials must have done their best. They are known throughout the world as sadists," Tano could find no other explanation for such changes in the harsh Master, but she only said aloud:
"I apologise, Master, for causing you such inconvenience.
"Don't mention it," Mace waved her off casually. "What inconvenience could there be?
"I'll stop causing them as soon as I can," Ahsoka promised him, although she had no idea where she would go or what she would do next. The only thing she knew for sure was that she couldn't live off the charity of such noble people who already had enough to worry about.
"Don't worry about that," Windu replied. "Get well first, and then we'll figure something out.
It seemed that everyone in the house treated Asoka the same, but what about the other survivors? She hadn't seen their Togruta yet and didn't know what to expect when she met them. Of course, rumours had long since spread throughout the camp that two younglings had found Tano's Padawan, almost unconscious and completely exhausted from giving birth to a dead child, but it was difficult to hear exactly what people thought about it. Shaak Ti wouldn't let anyone near her, not even those who came with the best of intentions to check on the condition of the unfortunate, rejected Tano.
"I wonder where you all were before, with your concern? Before the poor woman got into this state," thought Shaak, ushering out another well-meaning visitor. "And where was I?" she added bitterly in her mind, wiping her wet hands on her apron. She limited all answers to questions with the message that Asoka was already feeling better and that soon everyone who wanted to could see her for themselves. However, Tano's acquaintance with another member of the camp of fugitive Jedi happened sooner than Shaak Ti would have liked, and even Asoka herself was not ready for it. It happened when, suddenly, in the middle of the night, there was a loud and insistent knock on the cabin window. Togruta sat up in terror, pulling the blanket over her knees, certain that Robert had come for her, rising from the world of the Force.
"Calm down, Ahsoka," said Shaak Ti, laying her back down on the pillow. "I'll take care of it.
"Master Shaak Ti!" a strong male voice joined the loud knocking. "Are you there?
"Damn it, Sith! Windu's dissatisfied voice could be heard from outside; he and the boys were sleeping in the hallway. "What do you need her for at this hour?
"Master, Padmé is giving birth," replied a nervous voice, breaking with excitement. "Can Shaak Ti come and help her? She felt ill after dinner. And I am absolutely certain that she is in labour, not just suffering from indigestion, as she tried to convince me.
At that moment, Shaak Ti had already come out into the street, throwing Windu's dark cloak over her shirt. She stood in front of the unexpected visitor and, looking at him in bewilderment, said:
"Anakin? Is it really you? You say Padmé is already giving birth, but I thought she was still...
"Me too," Anakin interrupted her. "But here's the thing..."
Ahsoka, who had heard everything and recognised the speaker, could tell that her former mentor's voice was trembling with fear for the life of his beloved. She knew how much his wife meant to him, so she wasn't surprised. However, she wasn't prepared for them to meet like this, right now... No, Tano wasn't ready for that. Let him think that she was still far away. Meanwhile, Anakin continued:
"She's in bad shape, very bad. Can you help?
"Consider me there," Shaaq Ti returned to the house to get dressed and, quickly pulling on a dress and boots, told Asoka, "You keep sleeping, Katuni will be with you, and if anything happens, she'll come and get me."
Throwing the same cloak over her shoulders, the woman stepped out into the darkness of the night. The next morning, when it was time for training and other activities, Shaak Ti had not yet returned. Rumours spread throughout the camp that Padmé was still in labour but insisted that the Jedi not be distracted from their duties because of her. Petro offered to replace Anakin on morning reconnaissance, while Windu led the other children in training. In Shaak Ti's absence, Katuni, as the eldest of the girls, did her housework: cooking, cleaning, and looking after the little ones. She did the same for Ahsoka as Shaak Ti had done before. Togruta was surprised at how much the girl knew about healing and the structure of various creatures.
"I'm sorry you have to do all this," Asoka said as Katuni poured the water left over from her morning ablutions out of the window.
"It's okay," she replied with a smile. "I've done the same for others when they were sick. Besides, I once got pneumonia myself and had to wash this way, so it's fine."
Shaak Ti arrived only at noon. Her face was pale with fatigue and, for some reason, very sad. Soon she broke the difficult news to the inhabitants of the hut. The labour had ended recently, and half an hour ago, despite all efforts, Padmé had died, giving birth to two children. A boy and a girl.
"She was so fragile, so delicate," she said bitterly. "And, of course, Anakin is terribly upset, blaming himself for everything. He now believes that he should not have brought her here, but should have taken her to the Naboo estate instead. She did say that she still had three months to go before giving birth, and by that time our plans to overthrow the Empire would have been well underway. So he's not to blame, although Skywalker himself thinks otherwise.
"What about the children?" asked Mace, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"You couldn't make them weaker, and they're barely bigger than little evochats, they were just eating," Shaak Ti said frankly. "I wouldn't be surprised if they follow their mother today.
She had already gone into the house to see how Ahsoka was doing, whom she now considered herself responsible for, and not without reason.
"How are you feeling?" she asked first.
"Fine, Master Ti," she replied as cheerfully as she could. "As soon as I can, I'll relieve you of the need to take care of me.
"First of all, just call me Shaak," the woman ordered her. "Second, that's not what I meant. Did Katuni do everything she needed to do? I'm sorry I wasn't there, but the twins are terrible. Are you sure everything is all right? I think you have a fever again. I'll tell Katuni to bring some ice.
Asoke could only nod in agreement, not wanting to tell the Togrut about her new problem, which had arisen only recently.
***
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